Happy 'every holiday I've missed since my last post' Day...

Hiiiiiii!!  :D

 

I know...I know.  It's been over 2 months since my last update, and I can give ya'll every excuse known to man woman, but I won't.  Instead I'll just pick right up where I left off, and update ya'll with everything that's been going on en mi vida since we last chatted.  That's what old friends do right??

 

Right.

 

First off, the holidays were pretty tough on me with tracking my points!  I did pretty well over Thanksgiving, but the Christmas holidays weren't that great.  Overall I didn't do too bad though, and ended up gaining about 7 lbs. total.  I missed a few WW weigh-ins, mainly due to the site being closed for the holidays.  Believe me, seeing that jump in the scale put me back in check!  I don't want to go backwards, especially after all the hard work I've put in over the past year.  I also didn't exercise as much as I wanted to during the holidays.  I'm sure that was a huge factor in the gain I had, and I felt it also!  My energy level just wasn't there the way it usually is when I'm active.

 

With the start of 2013, I decided to try something a little different, and really dedicated myself to becoming a runner.  I still want my 13.1 sticker one day!!   I know I'm starting on the bottom, but that's okay, because that's where I started with my weight-loss too, and look where I'm at now?  This past week alone, I only got to go out 4 times, but that's better than nothing.  Here are my stats:

 

2/14/13

  3.02 miles - 48:44 minutes

 

2/15/13

3.20 miles - 48:41 minutes

 

2/17/13

3.02 miles - 46.35 minutes

2/20/13
3.09 miles - 51:48 minutes

 

Yeesss I went running on Valentine's Day...sue me!  lol  I knew I had plans that evening, and I wanted to make sure I earned as many activity points as I could that day, so I could enjoy every last bite of chocolate I had later that evening.  And I enjoyed every single piece too!

 

Now don't get me wrong chicas...when I say 'running', don't think I am actually 'running' the entire time.  I'm starting off on the bottom remember?  Right now all I can do is a

jog/power-walk combination, but enough to make me work up a sweat!  I've been slowly improving my time, and on different routes as well.  I will get there!

 

The way I've been calculating so far, I earn approximately 5 activity points per run, which is still a good amount, but I'm not sure how accurate this is.  I've been using eTools, and searching under the activities listed, Jog/Walk combination comes up.  When I input my time, this is what I usually get.  Weight Watchers does have a new ActiveLink tool, but I have yet to try it out.  Mainly because I've been a little low on funds since the holidays, but I am very excited to give it a try soon!  Basically, it is a small piece of equipment you wear at all times throughout your day, that accurately measures the amount of activity you do, and determines how many WW activity points you've earned.  It almost resembles a pedometer in size, and I've seen members wear it a few different ways, including as a necklace, a bracelet, an anklet, or even attached their shoes/belt.  It's small enough to hide, but from what I hear, it is a much improved way to track your activity.  Can't wait to give it a shot, and when I do, I'll be sure to post about it.

 

Anyhow, here are my weigh-in stats for the past several weeks...

 

 

As you can see, there were several weeks where I didn't get to weigh-in.  On 12/25/12 and 1/1/13, the WW center where I attend my meetings was actually closed due to the holidays.  On 1/8/13 and 2/12/13, I wasn't able to weigh-in due to not making it to the meetings on time.  Work has been pretty busy since the start of the new year, and I know that's not an excuse, especially because I haaatttee missing weigh-in days!

 

As you can see, after my gain from the holidays I slowly started getting back on track.  This weeks weigh-in went great, and I lost 1.4 lbs., making it a total of 138.6 lbs. total loss since January 2012.  Yaaayyyy me!!  It feels great to know that I've come so far, and to realize that one day I will accomplish my goals.

 

Aside from all that, I absolutely cannot complain about anything going on in my life right now.  I have certainly received so many new blessings in the past few months, and I am grateful for everything and everyone that has been placed in my life up to now.

 

Mi familia added a new member to the group in early January, and I am on cloud 9 status in love with my new niece!!  Congratulations to my beautiful sister on welcoming her daughter Elisa to this world, on 1/11/13.

 

 

 

Isn't she gorgeous?

 

 

The three of them will forever hold my ❤.

 

Christmas and New Years Eve were wonderful this year, but came and went way too fast.  There is never enough time in the world when you are spending it with your loved ones.  Christmas was spent surrounded by my family, yummy food, gifts, and the thoughts of loved ones who couldn't be there with us that day.  New Years Eve was great as well.  My grandmother's homemade menudo, a few games of poker, fireworks, drinks, and the blessings of a new year.  I can't believe February will be coming to an end already, but I can say that I am probably the happiest I have ever been in a very long time.  I've recommitted myself to staying healthy and active, and it's almost as if I've given myself a second chance at life.  I want to be around for as long as I possibly can for those three angels in the picture above, and I know making healthy lifestyle changes, and keeping a positive attitude will help me stick around for as long as He wishes me to.

 

❤.

 

'J' has completely taken my heart chicas.  Cloud 9...I see my future with you...permanent smile on my face...constant butterflies in my stomach...I never get tired of seeing you...I can be a brat around you and you still love me...HAPPINESS.  Did that give you a pretty good idea of how I'm feeling?  :)  I know...I know.  It's only going on about 4 months now, but my life has been completely uprooted and shifted to a whole other world.  I don't know how else to describe it, but to list a few reasons why this man has held onto my ❤.

 

He loves my family, and they seem to have accepted him perfectly.  BBQ's, holidays, weekday dinners, birthday parties, movie nights, and future vacation plans...this man has been there for it all.  I always told myself I wanted a partner in my life that made family a priority in their lives as well, and I've finally found him.

 

He has never judged me, and I can be my complete OCD, moody, bratty self around him.  He never backs down, and brings me back up every time I fall.  He pushes me to deal with my feelings, and not bottle them up the way I always have.  And on those occasions where I go back to my old ways and close myself off to the world, he somehow finds a way in, and doesn't leave my side until I have a smile on my face again.

 

I haven't lost focus of my weight-loss goals and lifestyle changes I started last year, regardless of having a partner by my side.  This man encourages me, and accepts me as I am.  I can weigh my food without shame, obsess over my points in his presence, and talk to him about new and healthy recipes I want to try.  Weight has always been a sensitive subject for me to discuss with any of my partners in the past.  I was always embaressed to even bring it up, or even exercise in front of them.  Chicas...we've been going running together, and I love it!!  It's so motivating and liberating at the same time.  To be able to get all sweaty and out of breath next to this man, pushing all insecurities aside, and knowing that he still views me as the most amazingly beautiful woman in the world.

 

Love.

 

Love with your all, your whole, your everything.

Love yourselves first, and love others without judgement.

When you do that, love will fill every part of your lives.

 

Have a great week everyone!!

 

 

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!!

 

xoxo,

❤Nica



I can finally breathe...

The past 2 weeks have gone by in a complete blur.  Thanksgiving came and went, and all of a sudden we're pushed into the chaos of Christmas and New Years.  Not that I'm complaining, but it just always feels like there is never enough time to finish everything on your list.

 

There's been so much going on lately, that I don't even know where to begin.  Thanksgiving was wonderful!  I spent the day surrounded by family and friends, eating some yummy food, watching football, and playing poker.  Check out the 'crustless pumpkin pie' I made...

 

 

Yeessss I love extra whipped cream on my pumpkin pie...don't judge me!  lol  I'll have to post this recipe for you all next time.  It was reallly yummy.  That's the beauty of Weight Watchers...you can still indulge yourself like this if you feel like it.  Just track track track!  I think I did a pretty good job this past holiday with my tracking.  Lemme tell you...I was prepared chicas!  I had my WW measuring spoons, and my trusty scale with me. 

Ain't no shame in my game! 

 

I hope your Thanksgiving was just as lovely as mine.  I have sooo much to be thankful for.  This year has just been beyond amazing for me.  Just to name a few, I'm grateful for...

 

1.  God.

My faith in you has only grown stronger and stronger over the past year.  Through you, I have been able to accomplish more than I could have ever imagined.

 

2.  Mi familia.

You make my life so much happier, and I am forever thankful for everything you have ever done for me.  You always come through, and have never failed me.

 

3.  My niece and my nephew.

You make my heart smile on a daily basis, and are my constant motivation to keep moving foward in making positive lifestyle changes.  I love you babydolls!

 

4.  My sister.

I admire your willpower and free spirit sooo much.  No matter what the circumstances, you always have a smile on your face, reminding me what a strong woman and mother you are.

 

5.  Cat.

Where would I be without you by my side?  My best friend, my partner in crime. You keep me sane, and have never judged me, regardless of all the mistakes I've made.

 

6.  Krystal & Clarissa.

My favorite primas.  You two know all of my secrets, and have stuck by my side through it all.  I appreciate every phone call, every text message, and just every time you've been there.

 

7.  My job.

Regardless of how many times you all will see me complain about it, I know I have been blessed with this job.  Almost 9 years and counting...I must love something about it!

 

I could go on and on, but I'd fill up a whole book.  I hope you all took a moment to remember all the things you are grateful for this year...life is too short not to.

 

State audit finally arrived at work for me.  They decided to wait until the last week of the month, and I couldn't of been any happier to find out that it was 2 great surveyors they had sent down from the state.  We were cleared with flying colors, and I am sooo glad that it's over and done with.  I'm pretty much finished for the year, which means more free time and relaxing.  Things should settle down a lot at work now, and I won't have that stress looming over my head.  Biiiiiig relief.  I can finally breathe.

 

Weigh-in went pretty well this week...

 

 

I didn't get to weigh-in the week after Thanksgiving.  I actually never made it to my meeting because of survey at work.  I was a little bummed about it, because I was interested to see how I had done after Thanksgiving the week before.  Oh well.  This week I lost 3.8 lbs., pushing me foward to 137 lbs. total loss!!  Oot oot!!  Totally patting myself on the back!  Hopefully the rest of the holidays will go just as smoothly.

 

'The Fisherman' is over an done with I think.  Aside from the fact that I was only hearing from him once in a blue moon, the majority of the time I think it was just to stroke his own ego, and keep me on the back burner.  I was sooo over that.

 

I want to be someone's number 1...not an afterthought.  I'm sooo happy to let you chicas know that I met someone new a few weeks ago.  For blogging purposes and his privacy, I'm just going to nickname him 'J'.  It's been an amazing few weeks, and I've been completely swept off my feet.  Sounds so lame I know, but this one came out of nowhere chicas.  It really is true what they say...it happens when you least expect it.  For starters, I was suuuuper hesitant to even start talking to him, because of some of my own insecurities in my head.  I finally decided to push them aside, and went for it.  He's met the familia already, met my co-workers, and I even have a date for all the holiday parties coming up!  I'm not 100% sure what this is going to lead to, but I can say that for once in my life I'm not worrying about anyone else but me, and my happiness.  I used to let the thoughts and judgements of others influence me too much.  Not any more.  Like I said above, life is too short.  I'll keep you all posted, so wish me luck!

 

Have a great week everyone!!

 

 

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!!

 

xoxo,

 

❤Nica



Ummm wait....what??

That's exactly the reaction I gave the lady in the UPS office earlier this week when I was dropping off a package for work.  I see her about once every 1-2 weeks, and she always has the same smile on her face.  Although I don't know her on a personal level, she always seems very friendly, and we conversate about different topics including our cars (we both drive Toyota Camry's), mutual friends, and life in general.

 

But this week was different.  Before even saying hello, the first words that popped out of her mouth as I walked into the building were, 'Just how much weight exactly have you lost??'.  To which I quickly and excitedly answered, 'Over 100 lbs. since January!'.

 

Guess what her next question was??  Don't know??  Let me break down the remainder of the conversation for you....

 

UPS Lady:  'Wow mija!  Which weight-loss surgery did you have done?'

Me:  'Ummm...I didn't have surgery.'

UPS Lady:  'Oh wow, that's great!  So what pills are you taking?'

Me:  'Ummm...I'm not taking any pills either.'

UPS Lady:  'Ay mija...are you sick?'

Me:  'Not that I'm aware of.'

 

Now...mind you...after I was able to erase the look of shock from my face, I did explain to her that I had been on Weight Watchers for the past year, and taking Zumba classes weekly.  However, I seriously didn't know whether I should take her questions as an insult, or a compliment.  It was kind of like a double-edged sword.  No matter which way I looked at it, this woman was automatically judging me, and assuming things about me, without giving it  a second thought.

 

These types of scenarios happen to me almost on a daily basis now.  I'm still not used to it.  The majority of the time, people are not as direct as Miss UPS, but will still most definitely make a comment about how my appearance has drastically changed, and what I did to lose so much weight.

 

Don't get me wrong chicas, I didn't leave upset at her, and I most certainly didn't go all crazy latina on her.  I actually used the opportunity to teach her and inform her about this fantabulous lifestyle I've been sticking to over the past year.  And that would make the second time that day I openly discussed my WW journey with someone.

 

Right before my UPS visit that same day, I had stopped to pay a bill (Hey...this chica has to handle hers!!), and it was almost the same situation.  When I walked into that office, the girl helping me said she almost didn't recognize me when she saw me getting off my car.  Wow.  I am totally not seeing what these people see, and I don't know if that's a good thing (because it will keep me pushing foward towards my ultimate goal), or a bad thing (self-love..still working on it...).  This lady was a lot more subtle about her comments, and basically just had a ton of questions about WW, and how the program works.  We actually had a pretty long talk, and in the end, I remembered I had some cards in my car from last weeks meeting for a 2 week free trial of eTools.  I quickly ran outside to get her one, and I'm hoping the next time I see her she'll tell me she got to try it out, and that she loves it as much as I do.

 

Two more times today alone chicas.  Once at the grocery store, where I ran into a friend of the familia that hadn't seen me in quite some time.  She was just amazed at my progress so far, and even said she was going to tell her friends about me.  The second time was at my Zumba class tonight.  A few of the ladies pulled me aside before our warm-up, and asked me how I was losing so much weight.  I gladly shared the info. with them, and they had so many questions!  They even asked to see some 'before' photos I had in my iPhone.  I thought it was funny because one of the ladies even asked me if I ate 3 meals a day!  She couldn't believe it when I broke down my meals for today, and told her exactly what I had eaten.  'This Mexicana has to eat her tortillas, and drink her Cokes!  No diet foods for me!'  she told me.  I just smiled and answered, 'Well this Mexicana still eats her tortillas and drinks her sodas, just in a smarter way!'. 

 

Yes I'm on my Weight Watchers soap box right now. I seriously love this program!

 

What I do appreciate out of all these different people, is that they all end up telling me the same thing.  That I look soooo happy when they see me now, and that they are extremely proud of me.  I'm proud of me too!  I'm learning to remind myself of that every time I start to feel down about a situation, or when life just doesn't go the way I had planned. 

 

This week has definitely been trying, mainly in regards to several issues within my familia.  I always feel like I'm taking care of someone elses needs, and putting myself last.  Self-love is a long process, but one that I'm glad to finally be on board with.

 

On a more positive note, I had an awesome NSV this week chicas.  I was doing some online shopping, and finally ordered some jeans I've been wanting from Torrid.

 

Photo courtesy of Torrid

The NSV part was that I was able to order a size I haven't worn in years, and fit into it too!  I never thought I'd be as excited as I was that day, when I got my package in the mail.  These jeans are awesome too by the way.  They are the Broadway Ankle Zip Stiletto Jeans, just in case any of you chicas are in the mood to do some online shopping while wasting time at work tomorrow browsing the internet at home.

 

I also wanted to share my WW weekly weigh-in from this past Tuesday.

 

 

Yeaaahhh buddy...down 2.8 lbs. this week!  I was absolutely psyched, especially since I had worked so hard at earning my activity points, and tracking my food.  I am getting back into the swing of things...and I'm going to use all these opportunities I've been blessd with to give as much love as I possibly can.  Regardless if it's in the form of teaching someone about Weight Watchers, accepting others for who they are, or dealing with life's daily problems.

 

 

I'm off for the night chicas...it's waaay past my bedtime, and tomorrow is my Friday!  I'm heading up to San Antonio for the weekend to celebrate my bestie Cat's b-day, which was earlier this month.  I'm going to try my best to take as many pics as I can, to share with you all when I get back on Sunday.  I want to try to give you all more of a glimpse into other parts of my life as often as I can.  Oh and by the way...things have not improved with The Fisherman.  In fact, I seem to have taken on an 'IDGAF' attitude towards him this week.  We'll see what happens...

 

 

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!!

 

xoxo,

 

❤Nica



It's the freakin' weekend baby...

This week has just dragggged for me, partly because I was a MAJOR procrastinator the majority of the time, and because I have been 'on-call' for work since last Friday afternoon.  I hope you chicas had a more productive week than I did!  Let me catch you up a little on what's been going on en mi vida lately...

 

I've had familia visiting from out of town this week, so that's been pretty entertaining.  My aunt recently had a baby boy, and let me tell you, it takes me back to when my niece and nephew were babies too.  Middle of the night feedings, diaper changes, bath times...I'm trying to prepare for the next one my sister is having pretty soon.  I don't think I had ever mentioned it, but yes, my sister is currently preggers :).  She's my only sibling, so I couldn't be any happier for her.  I absolutely adore those two angels.  They are my world chicas.

 

 

I cannot wait until number 3 comes along for my sister.  She doesn't know what she's having yet, but I am secretly hoping for another little girl :).  Only because I would love for my chiquita to have a younger sister, just like I do.  Sisters are special, and I will dedicate a post to mine one day soon.  These two make my days happy, and I can't imagine my life without them now.  I would give them the world if I could, but for now I'm sure they're satisfied with watching Monster's Inc. (their favorite movie right now),  building forts made out of blankets, and dancing with their 'ta-ta' to every Yo Gabba Gabba song out there.

 

This week a 'certain someone' started texting me again, after about 2 weeks of not speaking.  I think I may have mentioned several posts back about having some dates set up.  For privacy purposes ;), I'm just going to refer to him as 'The Fisherman'.  I'm using that nickname for several different reasons, but mainly because of a certain tattoo he has, and because of something that was said to me during a tea reading I had a few months ago.  (Yessss I said tea reading.  Future post on this topic.)  I'll have to do a separate post on him entirely, and how it all got started.  Needless to say, I spoke my mind to him during a conversation we had earlier this month, and he didn't seem to like it very much.  Let's just say, I put him on check.  I can become very disinterested in someone quickly if they don't make a move, or show me somehow that they are interested in me.  Don't get me wrong chicas, I'm not saying I like for things to move from A-Z just like that, but I have to know what you're trying to get at.  I do not enjoy getting mixed signals, and that is exactly what The Fisherman has been doing since we first met nearly 2 months ago.  We'll see what happens...and the only reason I'm even mentioning him in an actual post, is because the situation is beginning to irk me.  He seems to be a little different this time around, the context of his text messages, the words he's choosing to use during our conversations, how often he's communicating with me...but do people ever really change??  I don't know that I'd want him to either.  I've always felt that if someone is meant to be in your life, they will be, on their own free will.  Plain and simple.  Why force something that isn't quite working?

 

 

 Aside from all that, this weeks Weight Watchers weekly weigh-in has come and gone again.  I had a small gain this past Tuesday, and I am more that okay with it.  I had an amazing weekend before that, and wouldn't change anything about it.  Anything involving mi familia, a party, drinks, and some good music makes for a fantastic time.  :)

 

 

I gained .6 lbs. this week chicas, which still leaves me at 115.2 lbs. total loss.  This week I've been doing pretty good with my tracking, and I'm finally feeling a little more like myself.  I even managed to go to Zumba twice, and am going to try to make it to this evenings class if I can.  I also racked up 13 activity points, which is not bad considering I'm taking my time getting back into the swing of things during class.  I have to remind myself that it's only been about a month and a half since I had my gallbladder surgery, and that I need to take it easy.  My Zumba instructor Andrea can't put it any simpler...'poco a poco', or 'little by little'.

 

With that said, I'm officially off the clock...well until I get the next phone call at least.  Hope you chicas have a great weekend, and stay out of trouble!  (well..a little trouble won't hurt you too much...it will be our secret! lol)  Enjoy yourselves, and be safe!!

 

 

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!!

 

xoxo,

 

❤Nica



A part of me is missing...

And believe it or not, I'm glad! 

 

Chicas...let me tell you...gallbladder attacks are NO JOKE.  In case you've been wondering where the hell I've been, well let me start from the beginning...

 

Let's rewind to August 3rd, a little over a month ago.  Prior to that awful Friday, I had been feeling pretty crappy that entire week.  I was getting some unusual pains late at night, that would disappear in the morning.  I wasn't sure what was going on, but I did know it felt similar to how I was feeling when I went to the ER  in July.  I ended up going to work that Friday, and by 11:00am, I could no longer stand the pain.  I don't even know how to describe it, other than 'sitting in my chair with my head on the desk cringing in half hard to breath' type of pain.  lol  I literally got up, walked out of my office, and miraculously drove myself to the ER here in town.  After a few tests and A LOT of blood work (I am ALWAYS a hard stick :/), I was told that I was having a severe gallbladder attack.

 

YIKES.

 

And WOAH that pain.  Just like that, I was admitted to the hospital, and scheduled for surgery possibly the very next day.  I pretty much spent the next 24 hours drugged up to relieve the pain, and laying in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV.

 

Fast foward about a week, and I'm home after surgery.  Gallbladder and gallstones removed.  Recovery from this surgery has been terrible for me chicas.  I had an allergic reaction to one of the medications, and broke out in hives for several days.  The itching STILL hasn't fully gone away, but at least the hives have.  I still don't feel like myself.  It completely threw me off track, and I'm still struggling to get back into my normal routine.

 

I still haven't been able to return to my Zumba class, and just this week alone, I finally started tracking again.  I missed a few weeks of WW weigh-ins, but it felt good when I did return.  Here's a quick update from the past month...

 

I didn't get to weigh-in on 7/31/12, or on 8/7/12.  I was out of town that last week in July, and didn't make it to weigh-in.  The first week in August, well I was still recuperating from surgery.  On 8/14/12 I decided to weigh-in, even though I had not been able to follow the program much.  I had lost a total of 7.4 lbs., which I expected since it had been nearly three weeks since my last weigh-in, and of course I had been sick.  On 8/21/12, I weighed in and had lost another 2.2 lbs.  Then on 8/28/12, I had my second gain of 1.6 lbs.  I did expect that since the week before I had pretty much gained my appetite back, and was really just eating anything I wanted, and not tracking.  (Plus I had an awesome weekend with my bestie Cat, and got to go see JLo & Enrique Iglesias in concert!  Another post on that coming soon.)

 

Like I mentioned above, I finally shook myself out of the haze, and tried to get back on track.  Yesterday's Weight Watchers meeting was awesome, especially since we had a guest speaker.  It was amazing to hear one of the veteran members speak about her success, and how she had finally met her goal.  I weighed in also, and here are the results...

 

 

I lost 3.8 lbs. this week chicas!  Yaaayy me!!  As you can see above, that puts me at 114.2 lbs. total loss.  :)  I am beyoond excited, and proud of myself.  I know this little push is going to kick-start me back into gear, and I am soooo ready!

 

Set-backs, no matter what they are, are always a blessing in disguise.  We don't always see them for what they are in the beginning, but trust and believe that eventually everything will fall into place, and it will all make sense.  Don't let set-backs keep you rooted into the ground.  Then you get stuck, and it's so much easier to say 'F-it!', and start feeling bad for yourself.  I know I'm going to take that set-back I had a month ago, and use it as a stepping stone, hell...maybe even a trampoline, to just jump back into my happy frame of mind.

 

Positive thinking chicas...it makes the world go 'round.

 

 

 

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!!

 

xoxo,

❤Nica



WW Weekly Weigh-In

Hey gorgeous ones!  Happy Wednesday...happy hump day...happy who cares because it's almost Friday!  And Friday the 13th at that!  I am definitely looking foward to this coming weekend.  My body has been back at the office all week, but my mind is still in vacation mode, thinking of sleeping in, swimming, road-trips, familia, and good eats.

Yesterday was my WW weekly weigh-in day, and let's just say I was very surprised with the results.  I know I know...the number on the scale definitely does NOT define me.  I just can't help but be excited, because it brings me even closer to a huuuggee goal I set for myself earlier this year.

Yeaaahhhh buddy!  I lost 3 lbs this week!!  As you can see above, that puts me at a total of 95.6 lbs total loss since January.  The reason I was so surprised is because I didn't exercise as much as I usually do.  Thinking back, I may have only gone to 1 Zumba class, and went walking another night for only about 30 minutes.  I normally rack up about 35-45 activity points for the week, which for all my non WW chicas out there, translates to more food points.  This past week, I only managed to earn 15 activity points, and best believe I ate up every last point.  I guess I need to take my own advice sometimes, and give my body a rest.  It's not going to hurt me if I take a week off now and then, nor will I allow it to get me off track.  Honestly though, I did feel it, in terms of the amout of energy I had.  I felt like I was draggiinngg alll week long.  Exercising really does give me that energy boost that I love, and not to mention, puts me in such a great mood.  I leave my Zumba class with an 'I can take on the WORLD' attitude.  I have been thinking about switching up my routine a bit, because I would love love LOVE to be able to run a marathon one day.  Maybe start alternating between Zumba a few days, and walking/jogging 1-2 days, because chicas...I am nowhere near marathon material right now.  One day....I will get there.  Positive thinking is KEY.

My tracking wasn't all that great either, but it's okay, because I realize that I am going to have days/weeks like that.  I am not perfect, and all I can do is continue to put my heart into reaching my goals.  On a positive note, I had a few NSV's this week that made me feel

A-MAZING.  NSV's are non-scale victories, or in other words, all those little things that happen on your journey that mean the world to you, for your own personal reasons.

Some of my NSV's for the past week included:

1.  Being able to fit into clothing 2x smaller than what I was fitting into back in January.

(You have no idea how excited I was in the dressing room...I think shopping is my new BFF.)

2.  Getting compliments from friends and family, and finally being able to just smile and say 'thank you'.  I can't always do that.  Some of my fellow WW members will understand why.

3.  Giving myself a break, and letting my body rest for a few days.  Yes...even though I kept thinking, 'I should be at Zumba' right about now', I did need the break.  And going easy on yourself is not the easiest thing to do.  At least for me it isn't.

Love love LOVE Nicki...and these quotes are perfect for today.  It's been raining all week over here, and the clouds are starting to roll in as I'm typing.  Better get back to work before I'm forced to leave.  Office in a flood zone= no bueno.

Have a good one chicas!

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!

xoxo,

❤Nica



My meatballs bring all the boys to the yard...

Ohmygoodnessssss these are the bomb.com.

No...seriously chicas...they were sooo yummy when I made them earlier this week, I had to share the recipe with you all.  And if any of you are following the WW PointsPlus program, you'll be happy to know that I created this recipe using the eTools 'Recipe Builder' via the Weight Watchers website.  Soooo suuupeeerrr easy to use (well at least I think so), and oh so helpful when you want to be on point with your tracking as well.

These deeelish meatballs could actually be served many different ways, although the night I made them for dinner, we had them with spaghetti.  Here's what you'll need:

Start by pre-heating your oven to 375 degrees.  Also, go ahead and line a LARGE baking pan with foil, and spray it lightly with non-stick spray.  Preferably not a flat baking sheet, since the meatballs will release quite a bit of liquid during the cooking process.

Next, wash your bell peppers, de-seed them, and chop them up into small pieces, along with the onion.  Mince your garlic, and add it to the mixture as well.  Remember...most veggies are ZERO points in WW.  Yummy, filling, and get those healthy checks in chicas!!

Add your ground beef and 2 eggs to a large mixing bowl.  For this recipe, and in most of my cooking, I use HEB brand ground beef, 96% lean/4% fat.  Also, I'm pretty sure you could use just egg whites to save on points, but to me, adding the yolks makes the meatballs moist.

Add in your dry ingredients next.  Here's what I used:

FYi...I'm using reduced fat parmesan for this recipe.  I'm pretty sure substituting regular parmesan cheese for this recipe WILL alter the PointsPlus value.  Also, at this point in the recipe, I only add 1 tbsp. each of the parsley flakes, and the Italian seasoning.  Now for the fun part. :)  Add the chopped veggies to the mixture, and time to get your hands dirty chicas...

Roll up those sleeves (I hope you washed your hands already! lol), and get to mixin'.  Make sure that all of the ingredients are meshed well together, and then get started...

Roll each meatball in the palms of your hands until a nice round shape forms.  I personally use my digital food scale to weigh out 2 ounce meatballs.  With this recipe, you should get about 24 meatballs, or 8 servings (3 meatballs/serving).  Once weighed and rolled, place them on your foil-lined pan, and sprinkle with the remaining tbsp.'s of parsley flakes and Italian seasoning.  Put them in the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.  Your time may vary slightly based on your oven, but don't overcook.  When ready, they should be light brown in color.  I don't cover mine with foil or anything else during baking, and they come out juussst right every time. 

PointsPlus Value= 5

Serving= 3 meatballs

If anyone has problems follwing the recipe, or questions regarding how I calculated my PointsPlus values, feel free to holla at me.  I'd love to hear if you tried the recipe, and how you liked it!!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of the meatballs fresh out of the oven, but here's how I made them for dinner that night in my spaghetti sauce...

Yuummynesss chicas.

Enjoy!!

Be blessed...and stay blessed!!

❤Nica